Today was a particularly delightful Thanksgiving for me, and Lily said it was one of the best that she has ever had. It started bright and early with me and Clark running a half marathon. We both enjoyed our race very much. The route started at Thanksgiving point and went through the golf course, neighborhoods and the Jordan River Trail. My time was ok (146:08), but the race was very satisfying. I ran very hard, but so hard that I wrecked myself. I just felt grateful to be able to do it.
Shortly after Clark and I started our half-marathon, Lydia, Mary and Soren all started their 5K. Soren has run a 5K before and he was blazing fast at 27 minutes. Lydia got 33:40 and Mary got 36:43 and I was so proud of both them and their times. It was their first race of their lives!
Here are a couple of videos of the start of the race:
Here is Soren finishing!
Here is Mary finishing!
After the half-marathon and the 5K was the kids run. Clarissa got 6:02 in the half-mile, Ammon got 5:09 and it was so cute to see them running their little hearts out. Meera was also adorable and did a great job. I especially laughed when she was very focussed on the race and got mad when Clark and I tried to cheer her on (so we stopped). Here is a video of the whole thing!
After the races, we went home and the adults prepped for Thanksgiving. My dad and Suzanne came early and they helped too. Lily started cooking a couple of days ago, so she had everything ready to go on-time without too much fuss. We mostly set the table, cleaned, warmed up food, did final food prep, and Clark carved the turkey. While the grown-ups were busy getting ready, the kids were busy practicing their play with Lydia. She is such an amazing organizer. I heard her allowing 20 minute breaks and giving individualized coaching sessions (she actually called them coaching sessions). What a leader!
We had 15 in all when everyone arrived (David, Olivia, Ozzy, George, my dad, Suzanne, Clark & Swathi + kids, and our family) and laughter, conversation and hearth flowed. It was a particularly happy evening for everyone. The food was absolutely knockout. The sweet potatoe dish was particularly fantastic! We love all our guests so much and it was a truly special evening all being together.
After the meal, the kids performed that play that Lydia wrote, designed costumes for, choriographed, and drilled practice for days for. We were all so blown away! Here is the entire recording!
After the play, the kids watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving while the grown-ups continued chatting and everyone had pie (apple and pumpkin) and ice-cream.
It was beginning to end a magical day, thanks to the beautiful people in our lives.